Type an address to search for nearby blocks
Whitepaper
Explore More
Sign Up / Log In
Semiconductor History | Kokusai Toyama — The Batch Furnace Turns Vertical
· 1989
Personal memoryBy kevin · · updated · Report an issue
Search by address
Search
Loading...
Highlighted Moments
Featured Memories
Find memories left by people near you.
Distribute Bounty
Total to distribute
0 MR
Qualifying memories
0
This will distribute the bounty equally among all qualifying memories. This action cannot be undone.
Cancel Bounty
Refund amount
0 MR
Are you sure you want to cancel this bounty? The remaining amount will be refunded to your account.
Success!
Operation completed successfully.
Error
Something went wrong.
Back to map
Back
This memory is part of
Semiconductor History | Kokusai Toyama — The Batch Furnace Turns Vertical
kevin
1989
Listen
Directions
Kokusai Electric’s predecessor businesses entered semiconductor manufacturing equipment in 1956 and introduced a diffusion furnace in 1964. In 1985 they commercialized the VERTRON vertical CVD and diffusion system; four years later, Toyama Works began operations as the production base for a technology that would become central to the company’s identity.
Thermal processing changes wafers through heat and carefully controlled gases. A vertical batch furnace stacks many wafers inside a tall reaction tube, then runs oxidation, diffusion, annealing, or film-deposition steps with controlled temperature and flow. Turning the furnace upright reduced cleanroom footprint and helped manage particles and wafer handling while preserving the economic advantage of processing many wafers together.
The good was disciplined scale. Batch tools could deliver repeatable films across scores of wafers, making them valuable for memory and other high-volume processes. Toyama concentrated manufacturing, assembly, and improvement around a demanding class of equipment. This was another Japanese route to semiconductor influence: not designing the chip, but perfecting a machine whose uniformity and uptime affected every die in a batch.
The bad is embedded in batching. If temperature, gas flow, contamination, or a recipe goes wrong, many wafers can be affected at once. Long cycles create work-in-process risk, and batch architecture can be less flexible than single-wafer tools for rapidly changing or highly differentiated steps. Equipment demand is cyclical, customer qualification is slow, and Kokusai’s corporate lineage passed through mergers and ownership changes that could distract from long-horizon engineering.
The Toyama pin marks the plant that opened in 1989. The cover is a licensed photograph of generic diffusion and oxidation furnaces at LAAS in Toulouse, made by Centrotherm—not Kokusai equipment. It is used only to show the physical logic of a vertical furnace bank; the manufacturer and location difference are explicit.
Sources: Kokusai Electric corporate history, company profile, business description, and Toyama location information.
Photo: “Centrotherm diffusion furnace at LAAS 0489,” Guillaume Paumier, CC BY-SA 3.0. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Centrotherm_diffusion_furnace_at_LAAS_0489.jpg
Related Memories
Memory Marks
You marked this memory as
InspiringHeartwarmingEnjoyableSolemn!
You have 0 Memory Marks left to give today
Nice work! You have given out all your memory marks today!
Come back tomorrow or own more Blox to get more daily Memory Marks!
Thank you for alerting us of this Memory. We will review within the next 24 hours.
Save to Collection
Semiconductor History | Kokusai Toyama — The Batch Furnace Turns Vertical
New Collection
No collections yet
Create one above to get started
0
Do you want to remove this memory from the collection?
Do you want to save
changes?
changes?
The changes you made have been saved
Root to Blockchain
Do you want to root this memory to IPFS with 1 Metablox Coin?
You currently have Metablox Coins
Root to Blockchain
You need 1 Metablox Coin to root this memory to IPFS.
You don't have enough Metablox Coins
Uploading to Blockchain…
Preparing your memory for IPFS. Please don't close this window.
Upload Failed
Something went wrong while connecting to IPFS. Your Metablox Coin was not deducted. Please try again later.
Push New Version
Create a new version of this memory, preserving its current state on IPFS.
Cost: 1 Metablox Coin
You currently have Metablox Coins
New Version is on its way to the Blockchain!
Your updated memory will be available on IPFS within 10 minutes.
Your Memory is on its way to the Blockchain!
You'll be able to access it on IPFS within 10 minutes.
Uploading your memories
Are you sure you want to
delete this memory?
delete this memory?
Are you sure you want to delete this memory?
Keep
Delete
Take Photo
Add your photos
Add more photos
Preview your memory
Uploading your memory
You have successfully preserved a memory!
We detected that you have a Blox in your crypto wallet! We will import the Blox into your account.
Click on done below to complete the import.
Welcome Back!
Sign in to preserve cherished moments
Don't have an account?
Welcome!!
Sign up and start preserving cherished moments
Password Recovery
Enter the email associated with your account
Check your inbox
Use the link in the email to reset your password
Would you like to level up
?
?
Cost
MetaRent
Would you like to level up
?
?
Cost
MetaRent
reached Level !!
MetaRent / day
Max Storage
Coins Earned
+
reached Level !!
MetaRent / day
Max Storage
Coins Earned
+
Add your
photos
Tell us about this
Moment
Description (Optional)
/140 characters
Where is this moment?
location
Try searching for: Golden Gate Bridge, Miami Beach, or an address.
Uploading your moment
You have successfully preserved a memory!
Your moment is now
on .
You have successfully preserved a memory!
Your moment is now
on .
Uploading
exoangel
Hidden in 91hrs
Global Blox
Aug 31, 2026
Sprouts sandwich
exoangel
Hidden in 66hrs
Global Blox
Aug 30, 2026
Sunday beach time
exoangel
Hidden in 67hrs
Global Blox
Aug 29, 2026
Weeekend scene
exoangel
Hidden in 45hrs
Global Blox
Aug 28, 2026
Feeding the birds
exoangel
Hidden in 21hrs
Global Blox
Aug 28, 2026
Shrimp fried rice
You marked this moment as
InspiringHeartwarmingEnjoyableSolemn!
You have 0 Memory Marks left to give today
Nice work! You have given out all your memory marks today!
Come back tomorrow or own more Blox to get more daily Memory Marks!
Choose your payment method
Buy with Metablox Credit
Do you want to mint Blox with Metablox Credit?
Which Crypto would you like to use?
Payment confirmed!
Your Blox is being minted on-chain. This usually takes under a minute.
Check your Metamask extension
Step 1: Click "Confirm" to give Metamask permission to access your crypto
Important: When the extension shows up, scroll down and hit "Confirm" to mint.
Important: You must change the suggested gas fee to High in order to process the transaction.
DO NOT refresh or close the page before seeing this.
We're processing your order...
This sometimes takes a few mins.
Please bear with us 💪
DO NOT refresh or close the page
Contact the Devs
We're very sorry this happened
Your transaction record has been submitted to our team. We'll solve this situation ASAP
Purchase Confirmed!
Your Blox is being minted on-chain and will appear in your profile shortly.
Log in or sign up to claim your Blox.
How many credits do you want to buy?
$100 USD = 1 Metablox Credit = 1 Blox.
Use Metablox Credit to mint any Blox you want on the map.
expand_more